Lazy Day

A sun-soaked morning totally sapped the energy of Bruce's office assistant - he slacked off all day and I don't believe he budged from this chair until it was time for Bruce's nap.  Murray can, at least, be counted on to remind Bruce of that item on the daily "to do" list.

Bowen Park

I didn't have my camera on the day we walked Piper's Lagoon beside the ocean, which is too bad because the water sparkled like mad.  Crazy wind and unsteady rocky footing made for challenging walking .. my legs sure felt the workout.  I promise you pictures next time we're there.

The next day . the 19th .. we went to Bowen Park, thinking to take it a bit easier.  We knew the pathways would be wider and better maintained and it didn't disappoint.  It did, however, give us a chance to really get out and move.  Our normal chat was punctuated heavily with gasps for air.  Pungent air.  I have now been introduced to Skunk Cabbage and even though I could forego a prolonged acquaintance with it, it did provide a nice margin for the webpost today.  Now that's how to make lemonade from lemons!

Bowen Park is one of the two major city parks, well maintained by the Nanaimo Parks people.  The first year I was here, I coached a dragon boat team from the City and one of the ladies of The Wave Babes designed all the flower beds for the parks throughout the city.  I'm still impressed. 

Speaking of dragon boats, I will be involved with KVL Kruisers again this year, although not paddling with Bastion Dragons.  I'm hoping to get some more outrigger time on the water with Bruce and his Huliguns.  I'll be designing a weblog for them as well, so I'll be sure to post you a link for that in case you care to peek at it.

Here's some more pictures from the Bowen Park excursion.

The stream wended its way around rock, through trees and brush,
past roads, and under bridges both manmade and natural.

The Mirkwood springs to life.  This pathway totally reminded me of a Tolkein forest
with its graspy bony fingers reaching for unwary travellers.

My favorite shot of the day.  Click to open and enjoy a larger size.
This is just upstream from the waterfall above, which is formed on the left side of this photograph

Catching up

The sun struggles to pop through the cloud layer to brighten our days, and occasionally it succeeds.  Spring has been a mixed bag, weather wise, with more than a few zephyrs clocking in at speeds too high to put a small craft on the water.  Bruce recruited me for paddling last weekend, but we ended up having to call off practice due to high winds.

My camera has still been in use .. I'll poke through the mish-mash ...

April 15

Robin's Den playpark is situated on the Linley Valley walkway system and is the entry point for our way today.   Basically, it;s a small kids playground located in a cul de sac .. but behind it is some pretty fantastic and challenging walking.  Keith managed to lose one of his cute little leather and sheepskin shoes on this walk, so we traversed this terrain twice. Good news .. we found it!

The pathway starts out quite smooth ...

... gets a bit more challenging ...

Ooops .. roadblock!

April 16

Front flower beds weeded and new flowers appreciated.

Late afternoon sunlight promises some great patio times ahead.

The white and pink Pieris bells race each other in an attempt to fill the hedge with their own colors. 
I can watch this competition as often as they care to put it on.

Aunt Sandy .. I think you asked about Pieris in an email.  Here is what Wikipedia has to share ...

Pieris is a genus of seven species of shrubs in the family Ericaceae, native to mountain regions of eastern and southern Asia, eastern North America and Cuba. Known commonly as andromedas or fetterbushes, they are broad-leaved evergreen shrubs growing to 1–6 m tall. The leaves are spirally arranged, often appearing to be in whorls at the end of each shoot with bare stretches of shoot below; they are lanceolate-ovate, 2–10 cm long and 1-3.5 cm broad, leathery textured, and with an entire or serrated margin. The young leaves in spring are typically brightly coloured. The flowers are bell-shaped, 5–15 mm long, white or pink, and arranged in racemes 5–12 cm long.

And now you know what I know.

Bridesmaids Dresses - Green edition

Oh pullllease .. you thought I'd finished?  Ha!  You can only hope you live so long.

Now, we looked at some warmer tones yesterday, but I know you're a girl in tune with all things natural, so today, I give you choices that would make Mother Nature's happy.

Remember what I said about taffeta and weddings going hand in hand?  Add in a small tiara and jewelled bodice and you have a smashing number, particularly when you pair it with a lemony bow.  Perhaps you should serve lime margaritas and lemon chiffon cake as well .. pull the whole package together.   I am totally in favor of lime margaritas, by the way.  *hint*

So .. jewelled bodice; check.  Taffeta; check.  Oh wait.  Hell, add some more taffetta.  No no . more.  More than that.  More yet.  Now add just a bit more.  Okay, there we have it.   This totally does not look like those little dolls you put in your bathroom to cover toilet paper rolls.  It does not.  This girl looks HAPPY.   But then again, maybe we should dose the water in the ladies powder room .. just in case.

So .. okay, maybe a bit much on the taffeta.  Perhaps we should pump up the volume on the jewelled bodice.  Of course, it doesn't leave much room for gown, but hey, no one will notice with all that bling blinding them.

Damn, you're a hard girl to please.  Okay, we back it off on the bodice work .. just a bit.  Add back in some gown factor .. maybe toss in a bit of leg to get men's heart's started.  Whatcha think?

Oh, and I didn't forget your slighty loose friend looking for love Mr. Wrong, Mr. Right or Mr. Rightnow.  This could totally work for her ...

 

And in closing, I bring you back to a green that is perhaps in keeping with the Irish nature of the family .. a modest show of Irish lace, some fabulous sewing and stunning bodice work.

I receive a lot of traffic on my site from people looking at this page and more specifically, this last dress. I've been asked many times where to find it.  Like you, I scoured the 'net and found some gowns that fit what i needed for my post.  I hope you find what you're looking for as well.

There are some really stunning examples here:
http://blog.appycouple.com/feature/colorful-holiday-gowns/
Here is the dress retailer.  I've seen this dress in red and blue as well:
http://www.hibridal.com

Good luck

Hitting the Heights

I laughed so hard today as we took a walk up Nottingham Drive.  These two streets are kitty corner from each other ...

The view from Arrow Way is really stunning.   This is shot from the driveway of the first house on the road, looking across Jessie Island which is out in the bay.  Bruce's Huligans quite often paddle out and around Jessie and have made friends ... okay, I mock .. with a dog Bruce has named Shep.  The dog follows them around the island barking the entire time and races down to the dock you see just to the right of the power pole in the foreground .. heaven help you should you want to set foot on Shep's docks.  Rawr!

 Just up Nottingham Drive a few more feet is Castle way, which comes with its own views of Newcastle Channel, right down to Cameron Island, which houses the taller building you see in the back.  In December, every apartment in that complex has a display of Christmas lights and the scene is spectacular seen from the water.

A bit farther up the road, we followed the driveway of a house that was torn down at some point long in the past .. tulips and daffodils have naturalized and tiny vibrant muscari pop up through the moss to sing their spring arias.   We had a good look down the hill to Prince John Way and ran into a postal carrier who had been following our progress and had some local pathways to share with us.  As we drove home, we took a peek at his suggestion from the road and will be following up tomorrow.

This first picture gives you a sense of the heights that Sherwood Forest sits upon.  This shot is very jigaw puzzle worthy.

I have no idea what these particular flowers are .. there were varieties of them in gardens up and down the road, most often in shades of lime green.  This was a fairly impressive bed on Crossbow.

The hazards of gardening in Nanaimo include the usual pestilences and herbaceous diseases .. but the number one problem out here can be seen quite clearly below.  This is part of a family of four that were happily grazing on newly budded branches and flowers.

And lastly .. this is for my constructiony type brothers who quite obviously need schooling in roofing.  This is a lesson in accessorizing ... now you can match your roof to your Dalmatian dog.  That's how we do it on the island. Eat your heart out.  :D

Colliery Dam

Today, we took a drive down Wakesiah and ended up at the Colliery Dams, which, for Bev,evokes many happy memories of childhood ramblings on the pathways, teen rendezvous with friends and of course ... that time she made out with that hot guy. 

This is the pathway across the top of the Second Dam, which is above the first dam.  You know, come to think of it, I'm not sure I saw the first dam today, except in the distance.

The second picture here is of the diving post from which generations of Nanaimoites have swandived, backflipped and cannonballed.  Don't you  love the color of the water?

On the other side of the bridge in the first picture, you can see the spillway and get a sense of the amount of water pouring out of the lake.

A short march down the walkway gives an amazing view of an old log footbridge perched across the tumbling torrent below.  Fortunately, the wooden walkway we're standing on today is much safer.

The moss grows everywhere and softens the edges of anything remotely close to the ground, creating a lush backdrop.

 Where the moss hasn't taken over .. the ivy is giving a run for its money.  The trees in this section of the woods were garlanded heavily and in one case, making a deciduous tree look like it was in full summer splendor. 

  A close-up of the tree in front ...

 

 Now, isn't this much better than a stairmaster in a gym?  Even if only because there is an end in sight.

The smell of cedar also helps, of course ... much better than a sweaty gym partner.  I love the contrast between the oranges and greens here.

Another picture of Keith.  Adorable eyelashes.  He's such a good boy on these walks .. often falling asleep as Bev and I chatter away, sometimes adding a somewhat musical accompaniment to our chats with his soft snoring.

Bridesmaids Dresses 1

Samantha, before it's too late, I thought we should go over some of the color choices you can make for your big day.  Oh, I bet you *think* you've got a color scheme going on, but you may change your mind ... let's see what showstoppers are out there!

Now, this first is not built around a color pallet so much as a pastel lace theme.  It could fit in with a country theme, and hey .. I'll just bet you like to act girly and get all dolled up in miles of chantilly lace and well-placed bows ... your friends should too!

If you're into bows as a lovely melody playing throughout your wedding symphony, you might not want to be quite so subtle.  Nothing screams 'theme' like this next dress ...  I'll bet your mom would look hawt.

And speaking of screaming ... maybe you've chosen fuschia to go with your fairy tale day .. these could be the very dresses to highlight your own gown.  You can even allow that slightly loose friend of yours to choose the midriff baring version ... I'm sure she'll pick up her future ex somewhere in the wedding party.

 

 Of course, one just cannot have enough pink at weddings, amirite?  How about this for an adorable ensemble?  You could couple medieval country tan and vibrant violet velvet.  I'm sure it will be ever so comfortable even on a hot June day near the arctic circle.  

Nah ... there's just not enough pink bling factor .. a bit of super spandexy stretch fabric might do.  If you tied them all together by their ankles, you could carry them around like a balloon bouquet.  Now *there's* an entourage you won't lose!

Okay, I know you're a country girl at heart, and maybe you'd like to get your mom in on this thing .. she could help sew the gowns .. you needn't go to a great deal of expense .. and hey, you could even match your flowers and backdrop to the whole shebang ... I'll just bet DeeWynn will think this is sexy as all get out.

Now, let's look at this orange and yellow thing a bit closer.  I'll bet a bit more hard work could turn up a suitable dress ...

Whoa .. flashback!  I feel like I just opened a box from my grandmother who'd been going crazy at the Three Hills Rummage Sale, maybe because I think I've seen some of these same selections. And Samantha, I hope you know I've chosen them with the same selfless dedication that my grandmother did .. I'll bet you even share that sense of delight that I did upon opening that slightly mothbally odorific box.    

Now that we've got that out of the way ... let's continue on with the warmer hues that I've selected for your choices ...

Peaches away!  If your friends are olive complexioned, the dresses above might be an excellent choice to highlight skin tones ...or if you've got a really outlandish buddy who can pull off this next dress .. it's a hell of a statement.  Not sure what that statement is, but .. wow.  All it needs for an accessory is a simple Xena bicep cuff.  Maybe she could carry a chakram instead of flowers.

Of course, your girlfriends should be your cheerleaders on this day of all days, yes?  This little number could set the right tone for the day.  And you know .. you can accessorize with pearls or even a spandex chamois, color choices optional.

Okay, let's switch it up and look at some cooler tones.  Weddings and taffeta just seen to go hand in hand.  Your friends will adore you forever if you choose something like this.  A hot June day and itchy seams that produce week long rashes will be a small price to pay for fairy tale wedding photos like this! Love the star in the bride's tiara.  Maybe you could get one too.  Look no farther than Walmart or Toys R Us.

And .. oh, oh oh!  Here's a way to get those wonderful aqua shades going with hot red flowers.  I'm not sure if this is supposed to be an Indian theme with oriental colors ... or what.  Whatever.. it just "works" doncha think?  Put your best friend in screaming red, match everyone's flowers to her, and let the rest choose whatever the hell they want to wear.  Yup, I'm diggin' it.

Perhaps you don't want to choose colors, which brings us kinda full circle to the top photo.  I think you can make it all work, as long as they're all carrying this bouquet.

And Deborah ... I know its hard to stand back and watch your little girl be all grown up. She'll have the spotlight all day long, but you can steal a bit of it back with this stunner of a dress.

I promise you .. Samantha will not be embarrassed one little bit.